Essex council has unanimously approved a new plan to address flooding issues across the municipality, replacing an earlier proposal for a dedicated flooding task force. At its Monday meeting, council adopted a motion from Mayor Sherry Bondy directing administration to develop a comprehensive municipal flooding roadmap. The roadmap will summarize the known causes and impacts of flooding, review existing infrastructure studies and planned improvements, and identify short-, medium- and long-term measures to reduce flooding risks. It will also outline priorities, timelines, responsibilities, estimated costs, potential funding sources and reporting mechanisms. The plan stems from discussions held with residents and administration after council deferred Bondy’s original flooding task force proposal in May. Speaking on AM800’s The Kyle Horner Show, Bondy said the document would help guide future councils on potential actions. “We need a strategic plan that’s going to lay out for council and the community all the work that needs to be done,” she said. She says the roadmap could strengthen Essex’s case for outside support. “It’ll give us data to go to upper levels of government to say, hey, these are the areas in our municipality that really need help and grant funding,” Bondy said. She cautioned against expecting a quick solution. “There’s no one thing that’s going to solve it,” said Bondy. “Even if we put millions of dollars in, there’s going to be massive storms that pour water, seven inches in four hours. There’s no municipal infrastructure that can fix that.” The report is expected back within six months.
